Knocking Down Bricks Of Creative Block

 

 

 

“Sometimes the best way to jumpstart a dormant creative streak is to indulge in other people’s creations.  Pull out the gallery opening and museum section of the local paper and head to that show on baroque ceramic miniatures.  The work of others will perhaps make you wonder why you aren’t creating your own masterpieces.  If nothing else, inhaling other’s work should partially demystify the process because others, with varying degrees of success, have done it.” – Lynn Gordon

Suddenly, a creative block happens and you are stymied, lethargically inclined, procrastinating, dissatisfied, frustrated.  You might have half an art piece done and you feel like shredding it.  You might come to a point where a piece is no fun any more.  You are creatively struggling.  You walk away and it haunts you but you do not want to do anything about it.  Creative block simply sucks.

I do portraits.  I am obsessed with portraiture.  I get super distressed when trying to do a realistic portrait.  I take the easy way out.  I do whimsical portraits.  Once in a while, I simply have to do something different to get my creative muse to waken.  She is stubborn.  She gives up easily.  She pouts.  And off she goes to a corner, facing the wall, refusing to even look back.

Oh, it was all fun and games when she was a laughing inspired muse.  Now, she really p*zz** me off. It starts to feel like forever when she continues to refuse even to talk about it.  Then the shame and guilt sets in, and she could care less.  (“I should be able to create…why am I not getting that done…I am going to work in an unfinished art journal, then…ok, I will start another art journal….” )...even threatening her does not work, sometimes.  I can not force her.  She rebels further and then Ego/Evil Inner Witch gets involved and the piece I try to do is childish and there is very little satisfaction in it. 

I have walked away, as I have said.  I have left it for a night.  That only makes me lonelier for her.  I go and buy groceries thinking getting out of the same air will help.  Nope.  I try to buy something new in the craft section.  Nope.  I turn to some winter projects/Spring projects thinking she might become jealous and reappear.  Nope.  A change of scenery does nothing for her.  She is being Rip Van Wrinkle. 

I have gone for coffee with friends.  We talk anything but art.  I have some friends who are artistically inclined and some who could care less and quite think it is a waste of time to do art.  Both are good for me. She will come out to play once in a while, during a block, but she is limp and really not healthy.

A good way to perk her up is to clean out my stashes and drawers of painting products and tools.  This will usually get her going again.  Sometimes I will revert to do collages and sometimes cards, and she reluctantly might come out to play.  I do not like painting flowers, but sometimes, I do it just to get her goat.   

I do not do art boards/inspiration boards/ dream boards, but I do have a file folder on my desktop that says, “Art to try”.  She can start to feel competitive when I do that, betimes.  I do it just to grind her gears.  I keep an inspirational piece on my desktop screen.  Man, I love those I choose and I drool over them, knowing that I could not even come close, but, it may spark her to try something else. 

Sometimes, I hit a creative road block because my muse says she is tired of same old same old.  I end up doing half-hearted pieces and it shows in the finished project.  I, then, turn to YouTube, the Ultimate Instigator of Creativity.  Sometimes it takes a whole video, sometimes just the beginning of one will pique her interest.  When I hit a hard block, I never try to do something that has challenged me in the past (lettering). I have stacks of art journaling and scrapbooking magazines.  I have many artist collections.  Sometimes leafing through them works for her.  Sometimes I read poetry that my truly talented poet-friends write and a phrase might make her jump up and run to my desk, dragging me with her.   

One of the worst things, for my reluctant Muse, is to do a commission.  The buyer has a picture in their head as to what it should look like.  My Muse may have a totally different idea in her head.  I find my Evil Inner Witch/Critical Inner Voice really goes to town then.  As I work to try to do what I my Muse thinks is wanted, and I do what I think is wanted, may not be, at all, what the customer wants.  Suddenly, it is not fun and adventure and peaceful to do the art piece.  My Muse abandons me and my creative passion drains out, slowly but surely and it becomes work. 

Typically, my Muse gets into something I see in my head, or she sees or projects to me, and it is then that I fall into her space and there is peace; a timeless peace.  The Muse takes over the process and the process becomes the something that wraps me in the art-making.  Oh, how I miss her when she takes off on her little vacation.  I simply cannot do art if it is not intuitive/Muse-driven.  I can start without her but I quickly revert to “Beginner” and my faces get long and Modigliani-esque, simplistic. My art does not have depth without her imput.  It has no….yes, I know,  it has no soul!

©Carol Desjarlais 8.22.22

Sometimes, when I get stuck, I watch a video by one of my favorite artists.  This art journal page was inspired by one of the Youtubes I watched some time ago.  It is layer after layer of background and then some collage of petals cut out of paintbrush cleaning done on deli paper.  I do not typically do flowers, so this became a new space for Muse to get involved in.  Yah, Muse!